Blog

Doughnuts are a natural crowd pleaser — they’re warm, sugary, versatile and absolutely delicious. So it’s no surprise that the food holiday gods (who we suspect are just random people with access to the Internet) have dedicated November 5 as Doughnut Appreciation Day.

But although it’s likely we all have shown our favorite fried dough appreciation in one way or another, how much do you really know about this classic treat? We’ve put together 10 doughnut facts you probably don’t know, but definitely should. So pull up a chair, grab a glazed or jelly-filled treat, and become a certified doughnut connoisseur.

1 – Boston, MA has the most doughnut shops per person 250 total, which is the equivalent of one per every 2,480 people.

2 – During WWI, they were fed to American soldiers The Salvation Army ‘Doughnut Girls’ fed hungry and homesick soldiers this fried dough during WWI.

3 – They used to be called ‘olykoeks’ when they first came to America; they were called this Dutch word meaning ‘oily cakes.’

4 – Both ‘donut’ and ‘doughnut’ are acceptable spellings, ‘Donut’ is just a shortened version, popularized in the 20th century by Dunkin’ Donuts.

5 – June 7th is National Donut Day, Today is Donut Appreciation Day — totally different.

6 – Dunkin’ Donuts was once named ‘Open Kettle’; They started selling donuts under their modern name in 1950.

7 – They may have originally been a mistake, one story reportedly tells of a cow that kicked over a pot of oil into a mixture of pastry.

8 – Americans eat a LOT of doughnuts, Over 10 billion are made in the U.S. each year.

9 – People are named Doughnut/Donut, although to be fair, only around 10 as of 2011.

10 – The Guinness World Record for fastest to eat a jelly-filled doughnut exists, And is 33 seconds.